Agriculture offers opportunities to mitigate and adapt to climate change, according to a report released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) last Tuesday.

The Emissions Gap Report 2013—which involved 44 scientific groups in 17 countries and was coordinated by UNEP—measures the difference between the pledges countries have made to cut emissions and the targets required to keep global temperature change below 2°C.

The report finds that if the global community does not immediately embark on wide-ranging actions to narrow the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions gap, the chance of remaining on the least-cost path to keeping global temperature rise below 2°C this century will quickly diminish.

Based on the current trajectory, greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 are likely to be 8 to 12 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e)—roughly comparable to 80 percent of current emissions from the world’s power plants—above the level that would provide a likely chance of remaining on the least-cost pathway.

Reductions in emissions from agriculture, an often-overlooked emissions producing sector, could help to close the emissions gap, report authors say. They estimate that emission-reduction potentials for the sector range from 1.1 GtCO2e to 4.3 GtCO2e.

Reductions in emissions from agriculture could help to close the greenhouse gas emissions gap. Source: Wikicommons User Wawn.

Worldwide, agriculture contributes between 14 and 30 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions because of its heavy land, water, and energy use—that’s more than every car, train, and plane in the global transportation sector.

The UNEP estimates that 38 percent of agricultural emissions can be attributed to nitrous oxide from soils, 32 percent to methane from enteric fermentation in ruminant livestock, 12 percent to biomass burning, 11 percent to rice production, and 7 percent to manure management. Direct agricultural emissions account for 60 percent of global nitrous oxide emissions and 50 percent of global methane emissions, according to the report.

Scenarios of continued population growth and consumption suggest that by 2055, global agricultural methane and nitrous oxide emissions might increase by 57 percent and 71 percent, respectively.

According to the Emissions Report, certain sustainable agriculture practices present opportunities for dramatic emissions reductions within the sector. The report identifies three such practices as especially noteworthy.

1. No-till farming, in which seeds are planted directly under the mulch layer of the previous season’s crop and the need for plowing eliminated, can reduce emissions associated with soil disturbance and the use of fossil fuel powered farm machinery.

The adoption of climate-friendly agricultural practices not only contributes to climate change mitigation, but also enhances the sector’s environmental sustainability. In the long-term, these practices can provide other benefits such as higher yields, lower fertilizer costs, and increased profits.

Meeting the 2020 emissions reduction goal is still possible, but the window of opportunity is narrowing. To meet this goal, the international community must take immediate, concrete steps to reduce emissions across the board, including in the agricultural sector.

By tapping into the multitude of climate-friendly farming practices that already exist, agriculture can continue to provide food for the world’s population, remain a source of livelihood for the 1.3 billion people who rely on farming for income and sustenance, help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and increase resiliency to the climate change that is already in motion.